Chaos
by dragonflybeach
Summary: "There comes a moment in each of our lives, where the control that keeps us sane slips through our fingers. Most of us aim to seize it back. The best way to fight Chaos is with chaos. By it's very definition Chaos cannot be controlled, once introduced, all order and intention is rendered useless." Written for the Revenge Challenge on the HPFC forum.


Everything was in shambles.

The courtyard was littered with rubble, knee deep in places, and bodies, both human and not.

One of the entrance doors to the school lay halfway to the main gate. The other was on the roof.

One side of Ravenclaw Tower had been blown away.

_I blew up a bridge._ _Kaboom._

There was almost no glass left in the windows. Holes had been blasted in the walls.

People milled about, looking for friends and loved ones, shouting in joy or despair upon finding them.

_What are we waiting for?_

It made no sense that Voldemort would call a reprieve in the middle of the battle. It must be some sort of psychological warfare.

He wanted them to see the bodies of the fallen, the destruction of the school, the sheer and utter madness of this war.

_I saw the bodies._

_They're dead. Most of the leaders of the Order are dead, leaving a bunch of teenagers to fight._

_There is no more Order. When Order is gone, that leaves Chaos._

He picked his way across the courtyard, toward a familiar piece of tattered brown leather. He bent to retrieve the Sorting Hat as he registered the sound of approach.

Voldemort lead his forces forward, flanked by the snake, with a chained, hunched Hagrid just behind.

There was a body in Hagrid's arms.

"Who is that?" Ginny asked from somewhere behind. "Neville, who is that Hagrid is carrying?"

"Harry Potter is _DEAD!"_

"NO! Noooooooooo!"

More screaming followed. The crowd began to shout and curse.

_It's come to this. Harry has died for us.  
_

_The Order has fallen. There is no more Order. Chaos has taken over._

"SILENCE!" cried Voldemort, and there was a bang and a flash of bright light, and silence was forced upon them all.

"You see?" said Voldemort, striding backward and forward right beside the place where Potter lay. "Harry Potter is _dead!_ Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"

Voldemort turned back to the crowd. "From this day forth, you put your faith in me. HARRY POTTER IS DEAD! And now is the time to declare yourselves. Come forward and join us. Or die."

"Draco!"

"Draco, come."

The blond boy looked around before slowly making his was to join his parents.

_He's as shocked as the rest of us that Harry is dead._

_He would stay on our side if someone told him we can still win._

"Ah, well done, Draco. Well done." Voldemort stepped forward to embrace the young man, who visibly stiffened.

_What if they were wrong all along, and I was the Chosen One? _

_It's my turn now.  
_

He walked forward without fear, only calm acceptance.

"Well, I must say I hoped for better."

_I may die but so will you, Tom Riddle._

"And who might you be, young man?" The Dark Lord sneered.

"Neville Longbottom."

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ranks."

_There is no turning back. _

_Whether I am the Chosen One or not, I choose to end this once and for all.  
_

"I'd like to say something."

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear what you have to say."

_If he strikes me down, it's your turn Ron. Or Ginny. Or Seamus. _

_Whoever will fight, until there's no one left to fight._

"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone. People die everyday friends ... family. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us in here. So is Fred, Remus, Tonks all of them. They didn't die in vain! But you will!"

Malfoy's chin trembled.

_We_ will_ win, Malfoy._

_We will kill the monster.  
_

"Cause you're wrong! Harry's heart did beat for us! For all of us!" He reached in the hat and pulled out the Sword of Gryffindor. "It's not over! Dumbledore's Army!"

There was a deafening roar around him, as the ragtag group of would be soldiers cheered.

Voldemort hesitated, for a fraction of a second, as if wondering whom he should take down first. Harry took advantage of the Dark Lord's distraction, rolling to his feet, and throwing a spell at the snake.

"Confringo!" Potter ducked around to the side of the sprawl of bodies and headed back toward Hogwarts.

The Dark Lord whirled in confusion, and before he could train his wand on the fleeing dark haired figure, Harry had dashed through the rubble and was at the doorway of the castle.

Harry's supporters began to follow, losing ranks around their hero. The Death Eaters divided, with some charging forward while some disapparated or ran from the battlefield.

He ran into the castle with the others. Harry shouted something about killing the snake.

_Why am I running? I have a sword._

He turned, brandishing the sword, hearing someone shout his name, just as the spell flung him backwards.

He sat up, disoriented, not knowing how much time had passed.

_A Death Eater just flew backwards past my head. His clothes were on fire._

He looked around, at the battle raging around him. He was surrounded by smoke and dust and flashing colored hexes.

Draco Malfoy dueled a Death Eater off to one corner.

_He came back._

Everyone around him was fighting, some one on one, some in groups.

The castle was more damaged than it had been just minutes or was it hours ago.

Professor McGongall was knocked backwards, landing on her bum just past his hand.

She almost landed on the sword.

_The Order is broken. Chaos reigns._

_But the Darkness will not win._

He rolled onto his hands and knees, dodging a spell, and grasped the sword, which seemed to hum in his hand. He pushed himself to his feet over the protests of his probably dislocated knee.

_I will kill the monster.  
_

He stumbled, staggered, tripping on rubble and demanding that his injured knee support him through willpower alone.

Harry dueled Voldemort, warning everyone back, that it must be only the two of them.

_I will be here if you fall._

Someone screamed very close to his left side.

Ron scrambled backwards across the debris in the floor, trying to escape the huge reptile bearing down on him.

The snake raised itself, preparing to strike.

The human struck instead.

He sliced the snake's neck with one clean blow. Rather than the blood he expected to splatter him, the snake's severed body poured out the telltale black smoke of Dark Magic.

There was a hissing and chattering noise that didn't seem to come from the snake's mouth, but from all around and everywhere and nowhere all at once.

He felt a shift he didn't recognize in the magic in the air around him.

Harry and Voldemort locked spells once again, but this time, Voldemort's spell was rebounded against him.

He dropped the sword and fell forward onto his hands and knees as darkness played around the edges of his vision.

_Mum and Dad, I'm coming._


End file.
